Villa plan Owen swoop – Transfer Talk

Tick, tick, tick – the clock is speeding round to the transfer deadline and no deals can be completed after 5pm in England and midnight in Scotland.

Michael Owen is desperate for regular first-team football

Aston Villa are considering a move for Michael Owen , who would be happy to leave Manchester United if he can gain the regular playing time elsewhere which would help him claim a spot in the England World Cup squad.

He’s currently a bit-part player at Old Trafford with little chance of regularly playing in the side and a move to Villa would not harm his international cause.

Sunderland have been linked with a £10million move for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane but he is likely to remain at White Hart Lane although Alan Hutton could move to the Stadium of Light on loan.

West Ham are also interested in the former Rangers right-back while Fiorentina want to sign Spurs striker Roman Pavlyuchenko on loan for the rest of the season.

Don’t discount Birmingham from making a £10m bid for the Russian, however, as they chase a marquee signing to signal the ambition of new owner Carson Yeung.

Portsmouth will attempt to capture Nyron Nosworthy from Sunderland at a bargain basement price to replace Younes Kaboul after he returned to Tottenham at the weekend.

But if they fail in their attempt to get the Black Cats centre-half, then Pompey will attempt to capture former QPR defender Danny defender Danny Shittu from Bolton.

Portsmouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic will turn down the chance to join Tottenham and Arsenal and join Stoke instead as he wants first-team football and Thomas Sorensen will leave the Britannia Stadium to join Bayern Munich, although that move may be put on hold until the end of the season.

Arsenal are set to pip Liverpool in the race to get Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh to sign a pre-contract agreement and he will move to the Emirates in the summer but manager Arsene Wenger won’t bring in a new forward before the deadline even though his punchless Gunners are crying out for a fox in the box.

Blackburn will sign Ewood old boy James Beattie from Stoke after allowing Benni McCarthy to go to West Ham with Jason Roberts expected to join Wolves later today.

But Hull will keep hold of Stephen Hunt despite a £4m offer from the Molineux club.

Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry is poised to finish his career in the United States and will join New York Red Bulls in the summer when his contract with Barcelona expires. Henry views the move across the Atlantic as a final chances to maximise his earning potential.

And big-spending Manchester City are set to make a transfer deadline day £20m offer for Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago while also trying to snap up Mathieu Flamini from AC Milan or Parma midfielder McDonald Mariga.

City are also likely to be successful with £7m bid for Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson, especially if they agree to loan him back to Boro for the rest of the campaign.

Fulham are keen to seal a loan deal for Aston Villa defender Nicky Shorey who is currently on temporary duty with Nottingham Forest.